We are proud to offer Post Offer Employment Testing to employers across the Midwest. We’re even prouder when we hear about great results from those tests. Today we’re celebrating the Ankeny Community School District who was recently recognized for its work in reducing workers’ compensation claims.
What is Post Offer Employment Testing?
Before we dive in to the case study, let’s take a quick look at Post Offer Employment Testing (or POET for short).
POET is an evaluation that ensures workers can safely perform the physical demands of the job. POET collects baseline physical measurements for comparative analysis in the event a work-related injury or trauma does occur and helps identify health risks associated with pre-existing cardiovascular, degenerative or cumulative trauma disorders. The testing provides a “capable” or “not capable” result with legally defensible data for potential workers’ compensation injury claims.
The POET program includes a:
- Comprehensive Medical Questionnaire (GINA compliant)
- Musculoskeletal Assessment
- Dynamic lift testing
- Essential Functional Testing (job simulation)
The Ankeny Community School District Case Study
The Ankeny Community School District (ACSD) is one of the fastest growing schools in the state of Iowa, it has more than 1,500 employees and 780 certified teachers, making it the largest employer in Ankeny, Iowa.
The ACSD recently published a report that included an article entitled, “How Pre-Employment Physicals Help Increase Safety In The Workplace.”
In the report, Jenifer Owenson, J.D., Chief Human Resources Officer, shared how the ACSD is committed to creating a safe working environment for students and staff and that one of their strategies is preventing workplace injuries before they happen.
She shared that the ACSD has been, “doing pre-employment post-offer physical testing since 2010,” and that it’s been, “an instrumental strategy in reducing injuries and consequently reducing the District’s workers’ compensation costs.”
We are proud to be ACSD’s long-time partner in these pre-employment post-offer physical tests.
She goes on to explain that post-offer employment testing is, “an effective injury reduction strategy and offers a significant boost to workplace safety.”
In fact, Jester Insurance recently recognized ACSD for its work in reducing worker compensation claims.
Ankeny’s experience modification factor (a value that compares the claim profile of the employer to the claim profile that would be expected of an employer of similar size (payroll) in the same industry) decreased from 1.14 in 2014-15 to 0.87 in 2017-18 and continues to trend downward.
ACSD has blazed a trail for best in class hiring standards via the POET program it has implemented and we are proud to stand as their POET partner.
How Can POETs Save My Company Money?
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 1 in every 10 workers is not physically capable of performing the essential functions of their job safely. Can you afford to hire an employee who is at far greater risk of an injury that can drive up your workers’ comp or group health insurance costs?
If your company does not test you run the risk of hiring employees turned down by companies that do.
